2013 AMSOIL Engine Masters Challenge - Thursday, 10/10/2013 Coverage

The foruth day of competition at 2013 AMSOIL Engine Masters Challenge presented by Popular Hot Rodding magazine is sponsored by the School of Automotive Machinists (SAM). With Judson Massingill and his team of top students, SAM has been competing at Engine Masters Challenge since 2006 always finishing high in the ranks and taking the win twice. They’ll run last today and we expect an equally impressive performance from this year.

Shaver Specialty Co.

2/21

Thursday’s qualifying eliminations were kicked off by legendary engine builder Ron Shaver running a GM LS engine. The build featured an RHS block and Heads, displacing 427 cubic inches. The late model engine was equipped with a Holley carburetor on a single plane intake manifold. Shaver’s engine was clearly a well-developed piece, running flawlessly in qualifying. The power output was outstanding, with peak output recorded at 738 horsepower and 653 lb-ft of peak torque. The engine’s score was hurt by a dip in the torque curve right at the bottom of the rpm range, but the final tally of 2720.4 was enough to put Shaver among the leaders.

3/21

Racing Engine Design

4/21

Bret Bowers and the Racing Engine Design team brought another LS, this time a 417 cubic inch unit based on the LQ9 production engine. This high tech combination featured Holley’s impressive EFI induction. Bret had little run time prior to the event, and worked quickly to find a good calibration by starting with the Holley EFI working in the “self-learn” mode. The exceptionally detailed LS delivered 675 peak horsepower, and a peak torque reading of 615 lb-ft of torque. When the final qualifying score was added up, the team was a little short of qualifying with a score of 2630.7

5/21

Also B.E.S.

6/21

Jon Lahone, an expert builder in his own right, is employed by BES racing and entered the competition under the Also BES team name. The engine is a stout GM LS displacing 401 cubic inches. Equipped with RHS cylinder heads and MegaSquirt electronic fuel injection, we expected spectacular power. The engine certainly delivered the goods, with 748 peak horsepower and 621 lb-ft of peak torque recoded. The crew from BES was obviously well prepared, and worked flawlessly through the test session for a score of 2837.1 points putting them into second place.

7/21

Almost Kaase

8/21

Chris Thompson served as team leader for the Almost Kaase entry out of the Jon Kaase Racing shop. In competition here was a Boss 429 based engine, displacing 409 cid. We were not surprised by that engine selection, as Kaase is a leading manufacturer of components and cylinder heads for this powerful engine combination. The Boss Nine was equipped with a FAST fuel injection system, and certainly looked exotic. The team seemed to encounter a problem causing a low-rpm misfire. The Boss pumped out 717 peak horsepower and 636 lb-ft of torque, and despite the stumble down low, held the score to 2794.6.

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Joe Carroll

10/21

Joe Carroll is a veteran AMSOIL Engine Masters Challenge competitor, favoring the small block Chevrolet engine. This year Carroll’s small block measured 401 cubic inches and featured a set of Australian manufactured Racer Pro cylinder heads topped by the more typical Edelbrock intake manifold and Holley carburetor. The small block was well set up for this competition, having a fat overall power curve. The engine produced 644 peak horsepower and 602 lb-ft of torque. Scoring the qualifying pulls yielded a tally of 2703.1. Not quite enough to catch the leaders, but a very good score from Carroll.

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Robert Peters

12/21

401 cubic inches, and is running a set of AFR 227cc CNC cylinder heads fed by an Edelbrock single plane intake manifold and a Holley carb. The combination of parts came together as a stout small block, with output coming to peaks of 630 horsepower and 551 lb-ft of torque. Peters completed qualifying with a score of 2521.8 points.

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Jon Kaase Racing

14/21

All eyes were glued to the test cell as the outrageous 409 cubic inch Ford four-valve modular engine of Jon Kaase moved in for qualifying eliminations. With 16 header pipes snaking off the split exhaust ports, to the innovative injection system controlled by FAST electronic, this engine was extremely highly developed from top to bottom. The power numbers, especially down at lower rpm’s were unreal, with over 600 lb-ft on tap by 3500 rpm. The engine went on to post peak numbers of 720 horsepower and 666 lb-ft of torque. When the numbers were computed for the final score, Kaase had earned 2916.9 points, enough for second place in the current qualifying standings and well within striking distance of the leader.

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B.E.S Racing Engines

16/21

Tony Bischoff also looked to take advantage of the rules change allowing the Ford four-valve modular motor with a 401 cubic inch example. The power production capabilities had already been proven by the other competitors running this engine, and this time the attention was on Bischoff. Unlike the others, BES used a single plane intake manifold with a central throttle body location, which looked like a good choice for top-end power. In qualifying pulls the engine churned out 775 horsepower at peak, while torque peaked at 632 lb-ft. Tony’s MOD motor finished qualifying elimination with a score of 2867 points, putting it in the second spot with two engines left to run.

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Bradley Built Engines

18/21

Bradley Built Engines had a 417 cubic inch Chrysler Gen III Hemi that has been reworked from last year’s contest. The Hemi is a proven powerhouse, running ICE ignition, Accel EFI on a tall single plane intake, and ThieTek cylinder heads. After an initial wiring glitch the engine was brought to life and run in qualifying eliminations. Top end power was outstanding, with peak numbers of 778 horsepower and 642 lb-ft of torque. Down low the power was a little softer than some of the leaders, hurting the overall score. Bradley Built finished qualifying with a score of 2807.4.

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School of Automotive Machinists

20/21

The School of Automotive Machinists come back as the winning team from last year’s AMSOIL Engine Masters Challenge. Their new engine is an LS Chevrolet with a displacement of 436 cubic inches equipped with Holley EFI and CID cylinder heads. As a consistent top finisher in competition SAMs is always a team to watch. Their LS produced big power, peaking at 775 horsepower and 677 lb-ft of torque. The well-executed combination finished qualifying eliminations with a score of 2844, putting them in position for the finals as the number four qualifier.